Hi, Does anyone know if there is a legal obiligation to have a fire alarm system in a shop, I'm not talking supermarket size, just your average high street outlet. thanks in advance.

Not necessarily. “However.com”……….. Check out any of the UK fire brigade web site (if you have not already done so) and you should find a link to the guidance notes. One is for fire safety/risks in shops, free to down load. Have a read of that, but it is guidance. Linky here; https://www.gov.uk/gover...ssment-offices-and-shops I am often slated for saying this because some who frequent this forum see it as Insurance companies dictating elf n safety. Still, nae mind. IMO you should speak to your insurance company. It’s their fanatical risk as well as your moral, legal and financial risk. As both a fire risk assessor and an insurance auditor I cannot (and IMO neither can anyone else), make any sound judgement without a site survey, sorry. Crack on.

The legal requirement is that you have in place "measures in relation to the means for detecting fire on the premises and giving warning in case of fire on the premises". This could be achieved by installing an alarm, but also may be achieved in other ways and would be influenced primarily by the finding of your fire risk assessment.